My Holiday Sweater

The first time I saw the movie "The Holiday", I fell in love... with a sweater. I absolutely loved the white cabled sweater that Cameron Diaz wore and from then on it was "Jude who??". I searched and I Googled, looking high and low for who made this sweater and where I could purchase it. I found out that it was made by TSE Cashmere and it could be purchased on their website here. YAY! For $995.00!!!! NOOO! Now, I used to work in fashion so I am not shocked by the high price tag, but that price is a little too steep for me. But I am a knitter and I just knew if I could find a pattern that is close to this, I could knit it up. So I went to Ravelry (seriously, Thank God for Ravelry) and I found the exact pattern for the sweater!!

Pattern: Fireside Sweater by Amber Allison
Yarn: Schachenmayr nomotta Extra Merino Big in color 102
Needles: size US 9

I made a few mods which are all in the construction. I added an inch to the length. I shortened the sleeves by 2 inches and knit them flat instead of in the round. I also switched the buttons from the right side of the sweater to the left side. I think the fit is pretty good - I have a little extra room but the sweater is so nice and cozy.

I really love the yarn. It shows off the cables really well and it was nice to knit with. It was a bit less bulky than I thought it was going to be so I had to go down one needle size to get a denser fabric. I absolutely love this sweater!

Hats

The only other finished object I have as far as Christmas knitting goes is a hat for my brother-in-law.

Pattern: Turn A Square by Brooklyn Tweed a.k.a. Jared Flood
Yarn: Cascade 220 in Greystone Heather and Noro Kureyon in color 149
Needles: size US 6 & 7

I also finished this hat for myself a long while ago. I just needed a simple hat to throw on when it is cold and I had some yarn left over from another project.

Pattern: Ribby Hat by Tiennie
Yarn: Cascade 220 in white
Needles: size US 7
Mods: Only knit 50 rounds instead of 70.

Slipper Socks

Christmas is over - and we have all been catching up on our sleep here. Even my 3 year old son has been sleeping in. All of the decorating, shopping, baking, cooking, wrapping, knitting, attending events, etc. has left us exhausted. We had a great holiday season but, truthfully, I am glad it is coming to an end. And now I am free to show and tell about my few knits I have managed to get done.

When my sister was little, she got a pair of red slipper socks from L. L. Bean for Christmas one year. They almost never left her feet. She absolutely loved them. So when I saw this pattern for slipper socks in the latest Debbie Bliss Magazine, I knew that I had to knit these for her.

Pattern: Cabled Slipper Socks from Debbie Bliss Knitting Magazine Fall/Winter 2009
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool Ease in Grey Heather
Needles: size US 7 and US 8

The pattern for these is great. I was completely intrigued to see how they came together and I had a hard time putting them down. Needless to say, the knitting went fast. I had completely no idea how to knit the welt around the toe and foot and the magazine offered up no instructions other than to knit the next stitch with the corresponding stitch 5 rows below. That seems easier than it really is. I went to my knitting instruction books but they had no instructions for this and I was completely at a loss. I finally found instructions on this web page: http://charisa-martin.livejournal.com/24489.html It was an Ah-hah! moment.


I knew that I wanted real leather for the soles and I ended up finding leather working materials at Michael's craft store. They sell single squares of leather for around $8.00 which worked out perfectly for this project. I also found special needles for sewing leather and I used some heat-n-bond just to be sure that the leather stayed in place. I blanket stitched the edges to the bottom of the slipper.


I really love how these turned out and I think my sister loves them too.

A Little Christmas Knitting

I tend to not knit very much as far as Christmas presents are concerned for one very big reason - I have a 3 year old son who demands a lot of my attention. And let's face it, I would rather be doing special things with him around the holidays than spend my time behind a pair of knitting needles. I am managing to get one thing knit up because I saw this and it is very cool and because the recipient would totally appreciate it. Here is a sneak peek:

.....To be blogged about in full after Christmas.

This is actually going pretty quickly. I might even have a chance to knit up one more little thing.

Hoodie Sweater

My son's 3rd birthday was in October and I always like to knit him a little special something for his birthdays. This year it was a hoodie sweater.

Pattern: Child Hooded Jacket by Sirdar from their booklet number 318, Lazy Days and Holidays
Yarn: RYC Cashsoft DK in the color Mist
Needles: size US 6 (size US 3 for the trim)


I made only a few modifications and they were really only in the construction of the sweater. I added full fashioned shaping at the raglan sleeves. The pattern gave instructions to make the decreases right at the edge and there was no way I was going to try to seam that up. Also the pattern gave instructions to bind off the stitches at the neckline only to pick up and knit the same amount of stitches for the hood. I was seriously like, "huh????" so I just kept the stitches on a holder and joined them all together for the hood. Ingenious, I know.

I am really happy with the way this turned out. The closures kind of disappoint me because they are so stretchy that they don't keep the sweater closed all the way and I feel like they look a bit wonky. Other than that, the fit is great and the yarn is a dream. It is so soft and drapes very nicely.

I must say, my son has finally become a good little model for me. I used to have to chase him around and pray for one good shot but now he actually poses for me. I guess he just got used to modeling the sweaters I knit for him. This time around, I would say "turn a little to the left, ok, hold it there" and it was done. "Now give me your best leaf face. Work it, work it."

See, he's a total pro.

Check This Out: Hortensia

I am absolutely loving these knits by Hortensia.




These unique designs are all hand knit by skilled artisans in Peru and they are made out of Peruvian alpaca. Check them out at www.hortensiahandmade.com. Enjoy!

Fairisle Yoked Sweater

Last year, my husband and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary and the gift for your 7th is wool. (Maybe that's why they call it the 7 year itch. Wool. Get it?) Anyway, moving on. My husband said he would really like to see me knit a fairisle sweater and to pick out a pattern and he would buy the yarn for my anniversary gift. Perfect. One year later, I have a finished fairisle sweater. (It didn't take me a year to knit. I had to get a few projects out of the way before I could start this.)


The pattern is Fairisle Yoked Sweater by Debbie Bliss from her booklet called "The Cashmere Collection." I also used Debbie Bliss Yarn - Cashmerino DK in seven different colors. The original color of the sweater is in a light blue with a darker blue as a contrast color. I wanted a white sweater with navy as a secondary color and then I chose the other colors to compliment the white/navy combination. Neddles were a size 5.

The only mods I made were to add an inch and a half to the length and two inches to the sleeves. I am so happy with the way this sweater turned out and it fits me perfectly. I made sure to measure everything this time around and I feel like I finally got it right.

One of the reasons I chose this sweater over other fairisle patterns was because of the cuff and collar detail. I love how the cuffs turn up. Overall, a great pattern and a fun knit.